1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data reader for reading biological data from a human body region, and more particularly to a data reader which is capable of constraining a human body region from which biological data is to be read.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data readers for reading biological data such as fingerprint image data and eyeprint image data from examinees are presently available for use in processes of recognizing the examinees. According to a data reader for scanning and reading a fingerprint image, for example, an examinee's finger is placed in the readout position of an optical scanner, and then the optical scanner is operated to scan the finger to read a fingerprint image there from.
Japanese Utility-model Laid-open No. 123061/1985 discloses a device having a guide disposed around a position where an examinee's finger is to be placed.
If the examinee whose fingerprints are to be imaged is a criminal suspect or a child, then the examinee may occasionally be not cooperative enough to have its fingerprints imaged. Unless the examinee is willing to cooperate, it is difficult to place its fingers in the readout position of the data reader within a given time. A data reader disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 198786/1998, for example, has an arch-shaped resilient member for constraining a finger in a readout position. With the disclosed data reader, it is difficult to place a finger of a noncooperative examinee safely and reliably in the readout position within a given time.